Play This If...

Are you the only person in the crowd with their eyes towards the stars? Do you find yourself unsatiated by the mundane familiarity of everyday life? Have you ever wondered, what MORE could be out there?

JOIN US.

We are looking for INNOVATORS, EXPLORERS, DREAMERS to join us in the CARTOGRAPHERS' GUILD.
Our goal is to map the unmapped, chart the uncharted, and discover the hidden wonders of the universe.
ANYONE with valid qualifications* and a thirst for the unknown is invited to apply.

– The opening lines of an old job advertisement poster for the Cartographers' Guild.

Ventures is a wide and expansive universe, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the incomprehensible vastness of space. There's a wide scope for characters you can make in the universe of Ventures, but if you're unsure, here are a few places to start! This list is by no means prescriptive, but aims to encapsulate a wide range of playstyles. Bear in mind these are just suggestions, feel free to follow the advice here as much or as little as you'd like, or even not at all. This is your character, and your way to play the game.

You've already learnt how to make your way in unknown territory, and now you have the chance to make your way into a larger unknown than was ever possible before. Everything you've learnt about navigation, survival, and adventure will be tested to the extreme.

Suggested Activities:

• Take Quirks such as Skilled, Quick-Thinker, and Well-Equipped, so you're prepared for whatever the galaxy may throw your way.
• Use Equipment and get Augmentations to aid in survival, such as EVA Suits, Extremophile Metabolism, a Hardened Carapace, or Vehicles.
• Take a Squadron with your exploration team as the crew to help you chart new worlds.
• Use the System Survey and Expand Presence Goal Actions to map new systems and build exploration outposts there.
• Get involved with expeditionary teams! Be one of the first Cartographers aboard ships bound for brand new undiscovered worlds.

You've always wondered what it would be like to see new and exciting worlds, but now you actually get to go there! Whether a worlds-renowned academic, struggling university graduate, or an enthusiastic amateur, the drive to explore space comes from a thirst for knowledge.

Suggested Activities:

• Take Quirks such as Academic Researcher or Observant, helping you discover new scientific breakthroughs.
• Purchase Equipment such as Scientific Equipment, HazMat Suits, Engineering Tools, or a Field Medic's Kit, depending on your field.
• Hire research assistants in the form of Agents to help you on your scientific endeavours.
• Take System Survey, Research Culture, and Research Technology Goal Actions, pushing forward the boundaries of scientific knowledge.
• Make friends with fellow academics aboard the Cartographers' Station, such as in the station's research facilities, or at the various workshops in the Guild's research sub-stations. Additionally, take a visit to the Station's Libraries and Research Archives for any information or background reading you desire.

Question: What makes the world(s) go round? Not gravitational forces in elliptical orbits, of course: the real answer is money. And you're aiming to get a lot of it. From business titans to up-and-coming start-ups, plenty of people are trying to find their fortunes in space.

Suggested Activities:

• Take Quirks in the influence-based category to help cement your status as part of a business. Established Presence can help set up your production, and any businessman could use a Business Partner (but they might be Indebted if company dealings haven't gone so well in the past).
• Acquire an AI Assistant or luxury Vehicle as Equipment, both to flaunt your wealth and for practical reasons. And remember, you have the resources for Equipment that's A Cut Above the competition.
• Invest in a few Company Agents, and start building Extraction and Manufacturing facilities for those sweet, sweet returns on investment.
• Use Goal Actions such as Expand Presence and Research Technology to aid in establishing your corporate presence.
• Look for the plenty of like-minded individuals onboard the Cartographers' station. It's up to you whether you join them in their money-making schemes, or outcompete them in the economic market.

Hundreds of engineers, pilots, bosuns, and cargo-haulers are required to keep spaceship fleets in operation, and the Cartographers' Guild survey missions are no different. Various senior crewmen therefore find a place in the Cartographers' Guild meetings – there's always a job to fill in there.

Suggested Activities:

• Take the Skilled/Prowess Quirk to represent your experience in your field. Reputation Quirks, such as Business Partner or Established Presence, let you represent the bonds you've built as part of a crew.
• Bring Equipment along such as EVA Suits, Engineering Tools, or a Robotic Companion to aid you in your work.
• Organise a Fleet or Company with Expansion Points to get your own small crew going. You could take them at game start with the “Veteran Crew” modifier for a crew of old hands, or recruit a fresh, young “Green Crew” and teach them the ways of spacefaring.
• Use Procure Equipment and Expand Presence Goal Actions to allow you to leverage your position in the ship's crew to get Equipment and expand your fleet.
• Look out for the plenty of cartographic expeditions that will need an extra hand or two. Get involved in a range of different teams! There's always a place for a hard worker.

Plenty of unsavoury sorts are attracted by the void of space, from pirates to smugglers to rogues of all descriptions. Playing one of these wily scallywags will net you plenty of enemies (and perhaps some friends) on your voyages through space.

Suggested Activities:

• Take some Reputation Quirks. Business Partner, Nemesis, and Reputation (either + or -) will establish your status among your crew, the law, and the general public, whether you're cut-throat mercenaries or a lovable band of thieves.
• Take Equipment and Augmentation to aid in your crimes, such as Weapons, Body Armour, Explosives, a Hardened Carapace, or Integrated Weaponry. What about the Contraband Modifier? That couldn't possibly go wrong, could it?
• Get some Influence Squadrons and Companies, as no space pirate would be complete without a space pirate ship and crew! Another option is hiring an Agent, perhaps to act as a fence, co-conspirator, or informant.
• Use Procure Equipment and Expand Presence Goal Actions to keep you and your crew well-equipped and at the top of your game, vital for staying ahead of the local authorities.
• Keep an eye out at meetings for any lucrative-looking opportunities to plunder. Keep another eye out for rivals in your plundering opportunities. Keep a third eye out for any security officers giving funny looks in your direction.

Space is vast. Unimaginably vast. But one little pocket of it is the place that you call home. Whether you've lived there all your life or you're one of its early settlers/founders, you live and breathe and cry and love in this place and will do your utmost to ensure its safety and prosperity. Welcoming newcomers, aiding its residents, and removing ruffians from the premises are all part of your duties as a community stalwart.

Suggested Activities:

• Take the Reputation Quirk to ensure you're known around town, and Observant to give you an edge in case anything goes wrong. Established Presence lets you build up your community early on, but your Nemesis may just want to tear it all down.
• Gather Equipment such as an AI Assistant, Robotic Companion, or Engineering Tools to help keep your community ship-shape and in high spirits.
• Build your home bigger and stronger with Influence Assets, and strengthen your community with a Living Wage and a Co-operative Enterprise. If resources allow, Luxurious Facilities would really make the place feel like home, y'know?
• Perform the Expand Presence Goal Action to build your community further, and Research Culture to help newcomers find their footing in an unknown environment.
• Keep an eye on the wider galaxy's news, as you never know what could be of benefit or pose a threat. Better get there early and find out for yourself.